Student cooking and nutrition

How does this peculiar breed of human beings sustain their existence is a very interesting question. A student kitchen is probably the place with most improvisations on a square meter in existance. Let us consider some typical food groups:

Beer
No doubt about it, it is good. It contains malt, which is a source of energy, and hops and alcohol, which are antiseptic. So it is both delicious and healthy - a rare combination. Furthermore, it can be used as a "hair of the dog", providing a precious jump-start on hangover mornings. One of Belgium's kings is famous for deciding that his subjects should drink beer, not water. This turned out to be a life-saver for many people, because water in these times was considered fresh when there was life in it and clean when all the frogs and tadpoles have been taken out. No need to study microbiology to imagine where this road goes. Hellooo, infections! So drink beer. It will save your life.

Coffee
Dual-use nutrient. It keeps you awake and functioning... well, in most of the cases at least. Me - I can drink half a litre and go straight to bed. In the dreadful situation that there is no more beer in the fridge when you awake after the wildest party ever, coffee can kick you in the head good enough to start your day.

Pasta
Another critical food. It can be combined with absolutely everything - sweet stuff, salty stuff, herbs, spices, ketchup (this is a whole group by itself), even au naturelle. The last one is only pasta without any additives and usually appears on the table a day or two before next payday. The advantages are that it is a really cheap and really fast way of providing carbohydrates. The disadvantage is that it gets boring soon. This, however, can be circumvented by eating different types of pasta: spaghetti, macaroni, tagliatelle and so on and so forth. It is still the same pasta, just the different shapes create the illusion of eating various foods.

For the ones with Asian preferences, there are instant noodles. Same as pasta, but made out of rice. Even faster but not always cheaper.

Ketchup
Universal spice. Goes on everything. When the amount of kethup exceeds that of the food, a ketchup abuse occurs.

Meat
Source of lipids and proteins. Usually found as a trace ingredient in hamburgers, salami, sausages, meatballs and other processed stuff. It is commonly combined with other animal parts, chemical stuff with at least fifteen syllables and good old starch.

Junk food
Chips, chocolate, salt sticks, cookies, beer nuts and everything else people consume at parties. Students party a lot, therefore their junk food consumption can be considerably high. Moreover, chocolate can be successfully used as an anti-depressant. It is sweet and contains ephedrine... or was it dopamine? Does not matter, it is still good. Have a secret stash, just in case. Five-six bars should be adequate amount for emergencies.

Vegetables
Yeah, right.

Sugar
Welcome in all forms. It can be found in coffee or tea, in the coke/juice/fizzy drink you buy, in an ordinary lump you crunch while passing-by, in the cakes and cookies you have for your afternoon snack. In ketchup, mustard, sauces, jams, sausages. Sugar means energy. Energy good. Taken in the afternoon, it gives you a welcome boost which enables you to continue working until 21.00. If you have errands after this time, consider going back to the basics, i.e. coffee and beer.